Little Will'um
by junebug2
Summary: *FINAL CHAPTER UP, NOW COMPLETE*Spike gets turned into a little boy, and Buffy decides to take care of him.
1. Chapter 1

Pairing: B/S  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Spoilers: Early season 6-ish, before OMWF (so no smoochies yet)  
  
Summary: Answer to a challenge at CW. Challenge at the end. Spike gets turned into a little boy, and Buffy decides to take care of him.  
  
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, blah blah you get the drift, THEY'RE NOT MINE!  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! ;)  
  
Spike was stalking through the cemetery on his way to the Magic Box. The Slayer had come by earlier in the evening and told him they had a big nasty to fight, which was the reason for his slightly hurried journey through one of Sunnydale's many graveyards.  
  
Spike entered the Magic Box and said,"Ok so what's the beastie of the week this time?"  
  
He plopped down in one of the chairs at the research table and lit up a cigarette. "Spike, no smoking in the shop", Giles automatically replied.  
  
"As it were, we were just discussing the Olic'an demon that has decided to take up residence in SunnyRest Cemetery. It's your normal 'slice and dice' as Buffy would say, so I would like the two of you to eradicate it as quickly as possible."  
  
"Ok, come on Slayer; let's go get a spot of violence." Buffy and Spike headed out the door, but neither of them heard Giles call out to them to watch out for the slime that the Olic'an demon secreted.  
  
Buffy was being unusually quiet this evening, Spike observed. Not that she's been all that talkative since she's been back. "So Slayer, any plans for after we slay this Oli-whatsit?"  
  
"Nope, no plans here, planless-girl at the moment. I'll probably just finish patrol then head home and catch a quick movie or something."  
  
"Want some company after we finish with this demon?"  
  
"I guess some company on patrol wouldn't hurt," Buffy answered almost shyly.  
  
"Alright then, we're almost at SunnyRest, might as well be on the lookout now." Just as Spike said this, the blonde duo smelled rather than saw the demon they were hunting. It was huge, practically 9 feet tall, had two rows of razor sharp teeth, dripping yellow slime all over its body, and a thick hide of scales, both orange and purple. Buffy and Spike both sprang into action as the beast roared its rage. Buffy took her axe and starting slashing at the Olic'an's torso, but found that the small blade was not sharp enough to even dent the demon's thick hide. Spike, meanwhile, was using the broadsword he had taken to try to aim for the head and at least poke the monster in the eyes, as to incapacitate it. After a relatively long battle for the two fighters, the demon lay dead, but Spike was covered from head to toe in the noxious smelling slime.  
  
"Slayer! Look at all the slime you got on me! Do you know how hard it is to get demon slime out of leather? I'll be cleaning my duster for days!"  
  
"Sorry Spike I wasn't concentrating on where the slime was flowing."  
  
"Alright, but it doesn't look like I can join you on patrol now, what with how I smell now and all."  
  
"It's alright Spike, why don't we take a break from patrolling, go tell Giles the Oilve demon is dead, and then you can come to my house and take a shower?" Is the Slayer really inviting me to use the shower at her house? Must not be one of her better days today, come to think of it she has been rather nice to me this evenin'.  
  
"Sure, Slayer that sounds fine."  
  
After their brief conversation, Buffy and Spike headed back to the Magic Box to tell Giles about the fight. This stuff is getting kinda tingly, maybe I shoulda had that shower before the demon stories. As the vamp and Slayer headed in the door to the shop Spike began to sway a little. Buffy noticed this and frowned. "Spike, are you okay?"  
  
"Huh? Wha..Slayer, I'm fine, this bloody smell is getting to me is all. Let's talk to the Watcher right quick, then head to Casa Summers so I can take that shower, eh?"  
  
"Yeah, we'll hurry."  
  
"Giles, you here?" Buffy called out.  
  
"In the training room, Buffy," was the reply Buffy heard. Spike sat down on the counter, as another wave of dizziness overcame him. A few minutes later, Buffy and Giles emerged from the training room. "All right, I suppose you two can consider the slaying of the Olic'an as enough patrol for tonight."  
  
"Thanks, Giles, see you tomorrow." "See ya, Watcher."  
  
On the walk to Revello Drive, Spike once again felt the tingling, dizzy sensation that he had recognized as side effects of the slime. As soon as they reached Buffy's house Spike ran for the shower and started stripping off his clothes. He jumped in the shower and immediately started to feel better as all of the slime was sluiced off of his body. When he was done showering, Spike dried off and put on some sweatpants, and t-shirt that Buffy had left behind for him. As he wandered downstairs he could hear the end of a conversation between Buffy and Dawn. ".but Buffy, it's a Friday night, why can't he stay, I used to spend so much time with him when you.were.gone."  
  
" Fine, Dawn you can invite him to stay for a movie, then we will see what else, if anything, happens."  
  
"Yay! Thanks Buffy!"  
  
Just then Spike made his appearance, "Hey Lil'Bit."  
  
"Hey Spike! Haven't seen you around lately. Buffy said you can stay and watch a movie with us."  
  
"Glad to see you too, Nibblet. What movie were you planning on?"  
  
"Labyrinth!"  
  
"Ok Nibblet, but only if there's popcorn."  
  
"Sure, I'll go make some."  
  
Throughout this exchange Buffy had been strangely quiet. "Did you two do this a lot during the summer?"  
  
"Yea, pet, we had video night every Tuesday." Before Buffy had the chance to respond Dawn came flouncing back in the room, a large bowl of popcorn in her hands. She put the bowl between her and Spike on the couch, with Buffy to Dawn's left. She then turned on the video, and soon all three were engrossed in watching as Sarah wished her brother was taken by the gobblin king. As the story wore on, all three heads began to droop, and it wasn't long before Buffy, Dawn, and Spike were all sound asleep on the couch with the movie playing on in the background.  
  
The next morning found the Slayer, key, and peroxided vamp still asleep on the Summers' couch, the movie long since over. Buffy was the first to awake and quickly realized something was wrong. It took her sleep-addled brain a few minutes to realize, first that it was morning, and second that the curtain were wide open, allowing the sunlight to stream in through the front window. The first thing Buffy did was to pull the curtains shut, then frantically look around for Spike. She didn't find her slaying partner, but she did find a small boy who had a shock of white-blond curly hair falling over his eyes. To say Buffy was shocked, would have been an understatement. She quickly woke Dawn.  
  
"Dawn, Dawn!" Buffy whispered harshly.  
  
"What Buffy, it's Saturday, go away, I'm sleeping!" With that Dawn rolled back over and soon encountered a small pair of startling blue eyes. She jumped off the couch and stood pointing to the small boy who so resembled Spike.  
  
"Buffy, is that who I think it is?" She asked with trepidation in her voice.  
  
"I think its Spike," Buffy answered in a small voice.  
  
Just then the mini-Spike as Buffy had affectionately dubbed him in her mind, spoke, "Who are you l-ladies?" Buffy and Dawn had identical expressions of 'aww' but didn't express those sentiments so as not to upset mini-Spike, or as Buffy was starting to think, Little William.  
  
"I'm Buffy, and this is my sister Dawn, what's your name?"  
  
"Will'um J-james Giles. Where am I, and where's my mummy?" William asked. Dawn and Buffy were both so shocked to hear what Spike's real last name was that they almost missed the near panic in the small cerulean depths.  
  
"Well, William, you are in our house and we are going to find your mom as soon as we can, I'm just gonna go talk to Dawn for a minute ok?" Buffy regarded the small child in her living room with nothing but an outward appearance of extreme calm, but on the insides she was a mass of confusion. She herded Dawn into the kitchen and quickly snatched up the phone to call Giles.  
  
"Come on, come on, pick up already, Giles!" Buffy muttered as the phone rang for the third time. It was then she realized that it was only a little after 6 am. Finally on the fourth ring, Giles answered.  
  
"Giles, wake-up this is important!"  
  
"Buffy? Do you realize what time it is?"  
  
"Yea well, we have a small problem on our hands here."  
  
"What happened this time?"  
  
"Spike's a little kid!" Silence greeted Buffy over the line. After a few minutes, where Buffy could have sworn she heard Giles cleaning his glasses, she finally heard a reply.  
  
"Well, uh Buffy are you s-sure that that is uh Spike?"  
  
"No, some little kid named William with bleached hair and blue eyes just showed up on my couch this morning, and Spike disappeared from the very same spot!"  
  
"Alright, Buffy, I will be over shortly, anything you can remember about last night's patrol as well as any of Willow's more recent spells will be helpful. I will see you shortly." With that Giles hung up the phone, and a worried Buffy met an excited Dawn as she turned around.  
  
"Come on Dawn, let's go see what William can tell us." With that the sisters headed back to the living room Buffy was aware only of the small boy on the couch. "William, are you hungry?" After she asked him that she almost immediately felt stupid for asking this child before her such a mundane question.  
  
"A little bit, ma'am." Buffy heard Dawn snickering off to the side at the inherent politeness in William's voice.  
  
"Alright, let's head to the kitchen and you can tell us a little about yourself, does that sound ok to you?"  
  
"Yes, that sounds good." After Williams answer Buffy once again headed to the kitchen, this time for a different reason. She wasn't sure if this version of her favorite bloodsucker still sucked blood, but she was about to find out.  
  
"William, what would you like to eat?"  
  
"Um, do you have any Bangers and Mash?" Buffy sent Dawn a quizzical look and she just shrugged in answer.  
  
"No, I don't have any of, um, that, but I can make you some scrambled eggs. Does that sound good?"  
  
"Yes, please, I like scrambled eggs." Buffy quickly got out the frying pan and some eggs and began to scramble the eggs. She then placed them on a plate and gave both the plate and a fork to William, who was seated at the kitchen island. Just as William was about to dig into his breakfast, Giles came into the kitchen.  
  
"Giles! You finally came!"  
  
"Yes, Buffy, I did, now please show me where Spike is."  
  
"He's over there." Buffy said, pointing to the kitchen island.  
  
"Remarkable.."Giles whispered. He walked up to William and slowly tapped on his shoulder. "Hello, I'm Rupert Giles, can you tell me your name?" After Buffy heard Giles introduce himself to young William, she remembered what William's real last name was. She didn't want to spoil the surprise for Giles though, so she kept quiet during the exchange.  
  
"That's my last name too!" William exclaimed. At his excitement Giles seemed to register that he was related to this little boy.  
  
"Your name is William Giles?"  
  
"Yes, sir." William said quietly.  
  
"Buffy can I speak to you for a moment?"  
  
"Sure Giles, just a sec." Buffy then walked over to where William was sitting and started to clean up his place.  
  
"Dawn, can you look after William for a little while, I think there are some fairy tale books in that box under the stairs in the basement."  
  
"Sure thing, Buff. Hey Lil' Bit, why don't you help me look for some books for us to read."  
  
"Ok, excuse me, Ms. Dawn, why did you call me Lil' Bit?" Dawn had a comical expression on her face before she realized that she had indeed called William Lil'Bit.  
  
"Well, I guess it's cause you're such a little bit, plus that's a very special nickname to have. One of my friends calls me that."  
  
"Oh, ok, let's go find those books now. Ok?"  
  
"Sure, William, let's go."  
  
Meanwhile Buffy and Giles had just sat down on the couch. "Giles, what are we gonna do? I mean, Spike hasn't been a little kid for more than a hundred years, and what if we can't turn him back to normal, I can't raise another kid besides Dawn, and how come we didn't know you were related to Spike?" Her last question was delivered with a smile, and Giles groaned inside, knowing it wouldn't have been long before she remembered that fact.  
  
"I was wondering how long it would take you to pick up on our last names. Well, I have thought about the er predicament that we seem to be in here and I wanted to know if anything unusual happened to Spike last night during your battle with the Olic'an."  
  
"Nothing out of the ordinary, oh except he got a lot of slime on him."  
  
"Oh, dear." After that statement Giles proceeded to take off his glasses and began cleaning them on his shirt.  
  
"Ok, spill Giles. What's the what here?"  
  
"The slime of the Olic'an demon has various magical properties. The most notable among them is the ability to turn the er slime as it were into whatever the individual had been thinking during the hour previous to the er, sliming."  
  
"So Spike was thinking of his childhood before we went out slaying? And how long will this last, I can't watch him till he grows up, he's supposed to be a dead person!"  
  
"Yes I know that Buffy, but this demon's particular powers are linked to the lunar cycle, so the effects of the spell should only last until the next full moon."  
  
"Giles, that's like two and a half weeks away! What am I supposed to do until then? He's your relative, why can't you take care of him?"  
  
"Buffy, that is not a feasible option, my apartment is hardly toddler- proof, and I have the shop to think about. I'm sure you'll be fine, he seems like a polite little boy. Remember he is from Victorian England. Now I must be getting back to the shop. Call me if you need anything." With that Giles gathered his things and left through the front door. Buffy sighed and headed down to the basement to see how Dawn and William were fairing.  
  
Buffy walked through the kitchen and crept towards the basement stairs. She couldn't hear any movement coming from the basement, and that was never good in her line of work. She slowly snuck down the stairs, and as she reached the landing, she heard Dawn's voice.  
  
".and then they lived happily ever after. The End. Did you like that story William?"  
  
"Yes, I did Ms. Dawn, and you can call me Will, that's what my mummy calls me."  
  
"Ok, Will why don't we go find Buffy now." As they headed towards the stairs Buffy made her presence known and walked back to the kitchen with the other two. "Buffy, what did Giles say?"  
  
"Well the good news is the spell isn't permanent, the bad news is that its based on the lunar cycle and won't be done until the next full moon, two and a half weeks away."  
  
"What are we going to do for two and a half weeks?"  
  
"Well, I think we should start by talking to Willow and Tara, they both live here too." When Buffy finished talking she looked down to see Will pulling on the end of her shirt.  
  
"Ms. Buffy, I have to use the loo." 'The loo?' Buffy silently mouthed to Dawn.  
  
"He means the bathroom, Buffy."  
  
"Oh, um, well then come with me." Buffy led Will up the stairs. "Can you go by yourself, Will?"  
  
"I think so."  
  
"Alright, then I'll wait outside the door for you."  
  
"Thanks, Ms. Buffy." Will walked into the bathroom and shut the door. He was a little confused by how the bathroom looked, but managed to figure it out using the simplest of toddler logic. A few minutes later Will emerged from the bathroom and he and Buffy headed back downstairs.  
  
Once again in the kitchen, Dawn and Buffy decided a trip to the toy store and clothing store was in order. "Will, what kind of toy would you like to get?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Are there any blocks? I like to build things."  
  
"Of course, let's get in the car, and I'll drive us over."  
  
"What's a car?"  
  
"Well, it's like a horse drawn carriage, but without any horses. I think you'll like it, it goes really fast." With that they all headed out to brave Buffy's driving.  
  
After a short drive to the local mall, Buffy, Dawn and Will all got out of the car and began walking towards the toy store. Once inside, Buffy took in the look of awe of Will's face and decided to make it easier on him. "Will, why don't we head right over to where the blocks are?"  
  
"Ok, Ms. Buffy." He replied distractedly. They reached the section of the store with the blocks, and Will immediately ran over to a set that were a natural wood. "These look just like mine! Can I have these, Ms. Buffy?"  
  
"Just call me Buffy, Will, and yes you can have those. Why don't we go pay for them?" All three then headed to the cash register. Once paid Buffy, Dawn and Will headed back to the car. "Ok, everybody ready to visit the clothing store now?" Buffy then pulled out of the parking lot and drove over to the children's clothing store, all the while wondering how much Spike was going to hate her for the clothing that she had in mind.  
  
They reached the clothing store and went inside. As soon as the three stepped into the store a saleslady descended upon them like the plague. "Can I help you ladies with anything? You have an adorable little boy there."  
  
"No, we don't need any help thank you. We're just going to look around." Buffy decided the sooner that she escaped the horrid saleslady the better. I don't think I can slay salespeople, maybe I'll check with Giles on that one. They then went over to the little boys' section and Buffy tried to figure out what size to buy. "Hey, Dawn?"  
  
"Yeah, Buff?"  
  
"What size do you think we should get? I mean Spike's not all that big as an adult, and I don't think he's all that big for a toddler, so what size?"  
  
"Um, well, how about mediums?"  
  
"I guess we'll just try some stuff and see how it goes." Buffy reached for a blue shirt with small ducks on it and thought it was adorable, so she picked it up and held it onto Will. "Do you like this shirt, Will?"  
  
"It's a pretty color. And there are duckies on it. But why does it look so strange. My clothes don't look like that at home."  
  
"Well, you see, in America, clothing is a little different, than it is in England, where you live."  
  
"Oh, ok. Can I have a red shirt, too?"  
  
"Of course. Let's go see what else we can find." Buffy and Will left Dawn to look at pants, and made their way over to another rack of shirts. After about twenty minutes of picking out clothes, Buffy decided that she still needed some money in the bank and went to pay for the things they were going to buy. All in all, Will ended up with three blue shirts, one red, and one green, and four pairs of dark jeans. Once paid, they walked back to the car.  
  
"Anyone want ice cream?" Buffy asked as she was buckling Will into the car. Dawn and Will both spoke up then, voicing their respective requests for mint chocolate chip and vanilla. Buffy drove to the ice cream parlor and then went in search of the frozen treats while Will and Dawn stayed in the car.  
  
"Will, would you like to listen to some music?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Where would it come from? I don't see any musicians."  
  
"Well, it would come from the radio. It's kinda like they put all the musicians into a tiny box and then stuck them into the car."  
  
"Wouldn't that hurt them?" Will asked with an innocent expression on his face.  
  
"No, Lil' Bit, it doesn't hurt. It's just the sound of the music that's in the box. Hold on, I'll show you." Dawn then reached over and turned on a radio station at random. Unfortunately for her it happened to be Spike's regular station. She didn't think William was up to listening to the Sex Pistols yet. She quickly changed the station to a classical one, and thought that Will might like that slightly better.  
  
"That sounds nice, Dawn. Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome. Here comes Buffy." Just then Will's car door opened to reveal Buffy carrying three cones. One vanilla, one mint chocolate chip, and the other rocky road. After handing out the ice cream cones, Buffy got back into the car and headed home. .  
  
Once they arrived back at the Summers' house, Buffy saw that Giles was waiting for her outside on the porch. "Hey, Giles, what's the what?"  
  
"Oh, well it seems that because of Spike being a vampire, the spell will affect him slightly differently."  
  
"How differently, Giles?" Buffy asked in a stern voice. "Well, there is a uh chance of the lunar cycle coming and going, with-without Spike returning to normal."  
  
"What?!?!"  
  
"Do calm down Buffy, I will continue my research and get back to you right away." Giles left a decidedly morose looking Buffy behind as he made his way back to the Magic Shop.  
  
"What did Giles say, Buffy?"  
  
"Nothing important. Just that there's a chance Spike might stay like this."  
  
"Ooo, really? Can we keep him?"  
  
"Dawn! He is not a pet. Besides Giles is still looking for a cure to the spell."  
  
"Well, why don't we go inside and watch some TV, Maybe he'll take a nap soon." They walked into the house, put down their purchases, and sat Will, in front of the TV.  
  
"Buffy?"  
  
"Yes, Will?"  
  
"What's in the big box?" He asked referring to the TV.  
  
"It's ok, Buff, I'll field this question. Will, remember how I told you about the radio. Well this is just a bigger box, but instead of just listening to people, you can see them."  
  
"Really? Can I see it?"  
  
"Sure, hold on a second." Dawn walked over to the coffee table and picked up the remote, putting on Sesame Street. After a half hour of Sesame Street Will was sleeping peacefully on the floor. Dawn noticed this and carefully picked him up, putting him on the couch and covering him up with a blanket.  
  
About an hour and a half later Buffy and Dawn both rushed back into the living room when they heard sounds of crying coming from Will. As soon as they reached the couch they realized that he was crying in his sleep, probably having a nightmare. Buffy slowly shook him awake and made a small "oomph" sound as Will lunged toward her and hung on for dear life, his small tears slowly moistening Buffy shirt.  
  
"What's wrong, Will? Did you have a nightmare?"  
  
"Yes, Buffy," came the reply from the still sniffling child. It's ok, it was just a dream, why don't you and Dawn go into the backyard and play for a little while?"  
  
"Ok, that sounds nice."  
  
"Dawn, will you go play outside with him for a little while?"  
  
"Sure, sis. What are you going to be doing?"  
  
"I don't know, maybe I'll start dinner soon." With that Dawn and Will headed out the kitchen door to play outside.  
  
Buffy sighed and made her way upstairs to her bedroom. She began scanning the room looking for one thing in particular. "A ha.there you are Mr. Gordo. I think Will may need you more than me tonight." She then carefully placed the stuffed pig on the pillow so that Will would see him when he went to sleep that night.  
  
Meanwhile, Dawn and Will were busy in the backyard. Will had found the flower garden fascinating, and had proceeded to ask Dawn about every flower and plant he could see. When he ran out of foliage to ask about, Dawn offered to let him plant something. "Will, would you like to plant a flower of your own in the garden?"  
  
"Could I?"  
  
"Of, course. Let's go see what we have left seed-wise in the shed." Dawn and Will then proceeded to plant some sunflower seeds, after taking out all of the weeds. When they were finished, Will was well and truly dirty. They headed back inside to face Buffy's wrath.  
  
They walked into the kitchen and Buffy immediately saw the state Will's clothes, hands and face were in, decided that it was time for a bath. "Will, do you want to take a bath so you can get clean again?"  
  
"Ok" Buffy and Will went to the upstairs bathroom, leaving Dawn to clean up in the bathroom downstairs. As soon as they reached the bathroom, Buffy felt Will's hesitation.  
  
"What's wrong, Will?"  
  
"Nothing, Buffy, it just looks so much different to the bathroom we have at my mum's house." Buffy understood this; after all he was a child of the 70s, the 1870s, that is. It's ok; we just have lots of new stuff, like the radio and TV, except for the bathroom. Can you get out of your clothes now?"  
  
"Ok, can you turn around though? My nanny usually bathes me." Buffy was amused by his response, especially since he was only supposed to be 4 years old, but nevertheless, turned around. While Will was disrobing, Buffy began to fill the tub with water and bath bubbles, hoping Will's sense of modesty would be appeased by the fact that the bubbles would cover everything.  
  
A minute or so later, the tub was full and Will was happily perched beneath a mountain of soapy goodness. After a half hour or so of splashing around, and only ten minutes of actual washing Buffy got Will to leave the soapy haven in favor of the mac and cheese she had cooking in the kitchen. After Will was all dry, and had fresh clothes on they headed down to the kitchen where Dawn had already set the table and had placed the casserole of mac and cheese on the table.  
  
"Eat up, guys! Dinner is served." Everyone soon dug in to the cheesy pasta, and dinner was soon finished. After dinner Buffy sent Will to the living room, while she talked to Dawn. "Dawn, I have to do a quick patrol tonight. Do you want me to call Willow and ask her to come over for a little while?"  
  
"No, its ok, Buff. I know her and Tara are spending some "alone" time together. Will and I will be just fine by ourselves. He'll probably even go to sleep soon."  
  
"Ok, don't stay up too late, either of you." Buffy then walked over to her weapons chest and gathered a few stakes, then walked out the door to complete her sacred duty for the night.  
  
While Buffy was on patrol, Dawn and Will watched some TV, and then Dawn put Will to bed in Buffy's room. She went back downstairs and did the dishes, after clearing the table. She then settled in to watch a late night movie and wait up for her sister to return from her nightly slaying. The first thing Buffy noticed when she walked in the door was that infomercials were playing on the TV. Then she saw Dawn sprawled out on the couch, the remote hanging limply from her fingers. Buffy shook her head as she realized that Dawn had waited up for her. She took the blanket that Will had used before and draped it over Dawn. She then headed up to her room to check on Will. She once again heard a faint crying sound as she grew closer. She recognized that he was having another nightmare, and quickly shook him awake again. She then handed him Mr. Gordo.  
  
"Will, shhh.it's me, Buffy. It was just another nightmare. Nothing to worry about. Here I want you to hold onto Mr. Gordo for me. He has kept all my nightmares away, maybe he'll do the same for you."  
  
"Thanks, Buffy." Will said with a tiny yawn suffusing his words.  
  
"Its ok, now go back to sleep." Buffy then headed to the bathroom to get into her sleep clothes and get ready for bed. She decided to spend the night in her mothe.Willow's room for the night since Will was in her bed. She realized that she would need a babysitter for the next day, since she had work and Dawn had school. Unfortunately the only person she could think of to watch Will was Xander, and she wasn't sure that would go over too well, that being Xander's day off and all. She decided to worry about it tomorrow and promptly fell asleep.  
  
The next day Buffy and Dawn got ready for work and school while Will was still asleep. Once down in the kitchen Buffy called Xander. After three rings a sleepy-sounding Xander picked up.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Xander? I have a bit if a problem here."  
  
"Buffy, that you?"  
  
"Yes, Xan, it's me, the Slayer, now wake up and focus."  
  
"Ok, ok, what demon is it this time."  
  
"Just Spike."  
  
"Ha, I knew the bleached wonder would snap one of theses days! Do we finally get to slay him?!?"  
  
"No, we don't get to slay Spike! The problem is about Spike, not Spike himself. He's been turned into his human self as a 4 year old. Dawn and I both can't stay home today, and since I know it's your day off I figured you could watch him for me."  
  
"Buff, do I have to?"  
  
"Yes, now get your butt over here Dawn and I are going to be late." With that Buffy hung up the phone and headed upstairs to check on Will.  
  
She found him still sleeping peacefully, Mr. Gordo still clutched in his tiny hands. She was loathe to wake him. He could probably use some more undisturbed sleep after his nightmares, but Xander was expected in a few minutes. She woke Will up and the two headed to the bathroom once more.  
  
"Ok, Will why don't you do your stuff here in the bathroom, and I'll have breakfast waiting when you come downstairs."  
  
"Ok, I'll be down in a few minutes. Thank you." Buffy left Will in the bathroom, and headed downstairs to put some Pop Tarts in the toaster for Will's breakfast. She met Dawn, who was pouring a bowl of cereal, in the kitchen.  
  
"So what are we doing about Will today, Buffy?"  
  
"I called Xander over since it's his day off, he'll be her in a few minutes."  
  
"Buffy, are you insane? You're gonna stick Xander and mini-Spike in the same house for a whole day?"  
  
"Well, yea. I mean, Will is a really polite kid, I don't think Xander will have a problem. Why do you?"  
  
"No, no, let's just wait and see how much of a disaster zone the house is when we return. I gotta go anyway. If Xander isn't driving me I better leave before Janice does so I can catch her. See ya later, Buff."  
  
After Dawn had flounced out the door, Buffy turned around to see Xander and Will staring at each other just outside the kitchen doorway.  
  
"Xander, Will could you both come here for a moment?" Both males then walked over to the island where Buffy handed Will the strawberry Pop Tarts and Xander stood by the fridge.  
  
"Xander, this is Will," Buffy said, emphasizing the name Will.  
  
"Will, this is my good friend Xander, who is going to be taking care of you today." After Buffy finished introducing them, Will turned towards Xander and gave a tiny bow, and then addressed him.  
  
"Hello, Mr. Xander, I hope I won't be too much trouble today for you." Xander seemed dumbfounded at Will's politeness, but seemed to snap back to reality after a few moments.  
  
"Well, I have to be off to work you two. Have a good time. And Xander, not too much sugar please."  
  
"You got it Buff. One sugarless mini-Spike comin'up."  
  
"Don't call him that Xander, his name is Will." After Buffy left out the same door that Dawn had previously used, Xander turned towards Will.  
  
"So what do you want to do kid?"  
  
"Well, I was awfully fond of the box Dawn showed me."  
  
"Box?"  
  
"Yes, the one with the moving pictures. It was called something with some letters."  
  
"Oh, you mean the TV. Ok, I think I can handle that."  
  
After a rather uneventful morning of TV watching, Xander realized that it was time for lunch. "Hey, kid, what do you want for lunch?"  
  
"I d-don't know. What is there to eat?"  
  
"I don't know, let's go look." They headed off to the kitchen and Xander began searching the refrigerator for any lunch ideas. Soon after he found some sandwich fixings, and started to make ham and cheese for the both of them. After he was done he handed Will the sandwich on a plate along with some chocolate milk. After they had both finished their meals Xander pulled out some candy that he had found in the back of the refrigerator. He then divvied up the pile and they both set to work on the sugary confections.  
  
When they were finished and Xander had cleaned up from their lunch, and then suggested playing outside. "Hey, you wanna go play outside in the nice bright sunshine?" Part of Xander wanted to know how this little Spike faired in the sun's deadly rays, but he held his curiosity in check and let Will outside to play.  
  
"Will you play with me Xander?" Xander was still a bit perplexed by Will, but followed him into the backyard nonetheless. Once outside Will ran over to the small garden that Joyce had planted years ago. He began to ask Xander about each of the flowers.  
  
"Xander, what are these?"  
  
"Uh well, they're um flowers, and they're yellow, so maybe daisies?" Will was looking at him with such wide blue eyes that Xander had no idea how to respond. He belatedly realized that he was responsible for this innocent little child, who looked as if he was about to cry. "What's wrong Will?"  
  
"Nothing, Xander, we should just go back inside."  
  
"Ok, we can play a game. How about hide and seek?"  
  
"Ok, that sounds good." With that Will ran off as fast as he could. Xander counted till 10 and then started to look for Will.  
  
"I'm gonna find you.." Xander looked all over the bottom floor, but couldn't find Will. So then he went upstairs and could hear giggling coming from Buffy's room. He quietly crept into Buffy's room and looked around. The giggling had stopped but he could see a Will shaped lump under the covers on the bed. "Oh, no wherever could he be. I must have missed him again." Xander tried to sneak over to the bed to uncover will, but before he could Will shot out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Just as Xander was about to chase after him, he heard the front door open. He could hear the strains of Buffy and Will's voices.  
  
TBC.... 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Ok, I'm still getting the hang of this formatting thing, so juist try to read it, I'll work on fixing it in the next chap.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Previously  
"I'm gonna find you.." Xander looked all over the bottom floor, but couldn't find Will. So then he went upstairs and could hear giggling coming from Buffy's room. He quietly crept into Buffy's room and looked around. The giggling had stopped but he could see a Will shaped lump under the covers on the bed. "Oh, no wherever could he be. I must have missed him again." Xander tried to sneak over to the bed to uncover will, but before he could, Will shot out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Just as Xander was about to chase after him, he heard the front door open. He could hear the strains of Buffy and Will's voices.  
------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Uh-oh, guess I better get down there," Xander sighed out loud.  
"Xander! Get down here!"  
Xander could hear Buffy loud and clear, and he knew that voice. It was her 'don't mess with me, I'm a pissed Slayer' voice. He was sure he hadn't done anything too wrong. The kid was still alive and breathing. At least he had that going for him.  
"Yea, Buff?" Xander winced as he heard his own voice. It came out as a squeak under the powerful gaze of his best friend.  
"So how was your day with Will?" As Buffy asked this Xander could see her eyes narrowing in suspicion. Just as he was about to answer, Will popped up grabbing Buffy's sleeve, jumping up and down as he did so.  
"It was great, Buffy! We played outside, and watched TV, and had lunch, and played hide and go seek! Can Xander come over to play again tomorrow?"  
Buffy was completely floored by the time Will was done telling her, in one breath, about his day with Xander. He seemed so happy, that Buffy was practically speechless.  
"Will? You actually had fun with Xander?"  
"Yes, ma'am!"  
"Well, alright then. Why don't you go watch some TV with Dawn?" With that final comment, Buffy gave Dawn a little shove in the direction of the living room couch making sure that Dawn had Will with her before turning back towards Xander.  
"So, you two had fun today, huh?"  
"Well, seems like the kid, er I mean Will, did. So yea, I guess so. He wasn't really all that bad. Nothing like I would have expected mini-fang to be like."  
"Xander," Buffy sighed. "What have I told you about calling him that?"  
"Sorry, Buffy. I'll try to keep my witty quips to a minimum until he's all grown up again," he said with an accompanying eye roll.  
"That's good. You can go now, Xan. But I think Giles is calling a Scooby meeting tomorrow night. You and Anya gonna come?"  
"Sure count us in! Want me to bring anything?"  
"Nah, just yourselves is fine. We'll probably order a pizza or something from the shop."  
"K, see ya later, Buff."  
After Xander made his way out of the foyer, Buffy went back into the living room to see how Will and Dawn were fairing. When she came into the living room she saw what seemed to be two perfect angels sitting on her couch.  
"Alright, who are you both, and what have you done with Will, and Dawn," she joked.  
"We're just watching some cartoons, Buff. Did I hear you telling Xan about a Scooby meeting earlier?"  
"Yea, Giles called me at work, and asked if we could all come to the shop, something about 'new lunar information'. We're all meeting there at 7. I think we're ordering a pizza too."  
"K, sounds good, are Willow and Tara gonna be there, too?"  
"They should be. Why don't you go call them?"  
"K, be right back." With that Dawn went in search of the cordless phone.  
"So, Will you really had a good time with Xander?"  
"Yes, he was great! We played together all day. I do wish he knew more about flowers like Dawn, though. She knew lots yesterday. And your garden is just like my mum's at my house."  
"Really? Maybe we can see if we can find some others to plant tomorrow."  
"OK. Hey, Buffy? What's a Scooby meeting?"  
Buffy couldn't resist the baby blues staring back at her. She wanted to tell him all about what really went on, like she did with Spike, but she knew she had to hold back. "well, you see it's a meeting where a bunch of my friends, Dawn, and I get together and talk about stuff that's going on lately. It's over at Giles' store. Would you like to go with us? There's a room in the back I think you might like to play in."  
"Ok, is Xander gonna be there too," he asked with a faint hint of anticipation.  
"Sure, Xander will be there. I'll introduce you to everyone else when we get there too. Ok?"  
"OK, can we go now?"  
"Yes, as soon as Dawn gets off the phone, we'll go."  
TBC.  
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Next up: The Scooby meeting, and the rest of the introductions with Will... 


	3. Chapter 3

"Ok," Dawn said as she walked back into the room. "Willow and Tara are gonna meet us there, too."

"Did ya fill them in on the sitch?"

"Nope," Dawn giggled. "I want it to be a surprise."

"Sounds, good. Will, are you ready to meet everyone else?"

"Sure, but when am I gonna see my mummy again?"

Buffy wasn't sure how to answer that question. How was she to explain that William would never see his mother again? How could she crush such a young child's spirit like that? She decided to go the safe route by telling him, "Soon, Will, soon."

Dawn, Will, and Buffy climbed into the car, to head to the Magic Box. On the way over they stopped to pick up a couple of pizzas. Once they arrived Buffy parked in the back parking lot, and led Will by the hand through the back door of the training room.

-------------------------------

"Hey, Giles? Are you here," Buffy called out. She didn't get an answer, so the trio headed further into the shop. No one seemed to be around so Buffy put the pizzas on the research table, and sat Will down in one of the chairs.

"You guys stay here, I'm gonna go see if Anya or Giles are maybe in the basement."

After Buffy was out of sight Dawn set to work on finding plates and napkins for everyone. She grabbed the plates, and set them around the table, careful not to disturb too many of the dusty tomes that littered the table's surface. When she was done she sat down next to Will again.

"Ok, dig in, Will," Dawn said as she grabbed a slice of pepperoni from the top box. After a few bites she saw that Will was still sitting in his chair, staring at the pizza in Dawn's hands with a mixture of curiosity and hunger. He seemed to sniff the air a few times, a habit Dawn thought she recognized as one of Spike's tendencies, then pout a bit. Dawn found this puzzling and decided to further investigate.

"Will, you do know about pizza, right?"

"No, not really. We don't have anything like that back at home." Dawn could tell by the way he said the word "home" that he missed it more than he let on.

"Well, why don't you try some it's really good." Dawn grabbed a slice of plain and put it on the plate in front of Will.

"If you blow on it a little it should cool off enough for you to take a bite." Dawn then took her own slice, blew on it, and then took a small bite, demonstrating for Will.

Will took the slice in his hand and copied Dawn's movements to a T. After his first bite, Dawn waited for his reaction. He chewed slowly, tasting as much as he could. After he swallowed, he put the slice of pizza back on his plate and turned toward Dawn.

"It's good, Dawn. What's on it?"

"Um, well there's some cheese, and tomato sauce and kinda like bread as a crust I guess. Glad ya like it. There's plenty more where that came from."

Just as Will was about to go back to his pizza, the bell above the door jingled, indicating an entrance. Willow and Tara walked in, hand in hand. "Hey, Dawnie. Who's your little friend there?"

"Bet you'll never guess……," Dawn sing-songed. "Go ahead, Tara, Willow. Take your best shot."

"Well, um, he has really bright hair, and blue eyes…and Oh Goddess! Is that Spike?!? Dawnie, tell me that's not Spike sitting over there," Willow pleaded.

"Ok…it's not Spike. It's Will."

"Willow, why don't we sit down," Tara said.

"Ok, I think that's a good idea…"

------------------------------

_Back in the basement…___

"Giles? Anya? Are you guys down here?"

"Yea, Buffy. Just a sec," Anya replied.

Buffy could hear definite sounds of zippers being pulled, and clothes being rearranged. Buffy rolled her eyes at what was so obviously Xander and Anya's attempts at covering up what the were doing in the basement, and it wasn't inventory.

"I'm gonna head back upstairs, you guys can join us when you're finished."

"K, Buff," Xander hollered. "We'll just be a minute."

--------------------------

Buffy headed up the stairs and entered the main part of the shop, to see Willow looking a little green, Tara rubbing small circles on her back, Dawn chowing down on pizza, and Will watching everyone, taking it all in.

"So I see you guys have met Will," Buffy said nodding toward Will's part of the table.

"Yup, we have, and he's sooo cute, but uh, what happened exactly," Willow babbled.

"There was a demon, some magic slime, and poof Spike's a kid again. Giles has been researching, apparently he needed to tell us something about it, that's why the Scooby meeting. Just have to wait for Xander and Anya to come out of the basement, and Giles to show up and I guess we can start."

When Buffy was finished talking, Giles walked out of his office, glasses in one hand, book in the other. He looked up for a moment, as if sensing he was not alone, and nodded to everyone sitting at the table.

"I'll be with you all in a moment, carry on," Giles said as he walked over to the bookshelves.

Just as everyone turned towards the pizza boxes, Xander and Anya emerged from the basement. Xander immediately went over towards the food, affectionately ruffling Will's hair on the way over.

"Xander!"

"Hey, Will. Did ya miss me?"

"Yes, can you come over again tomorrow?"

"Sorry, man. Can't. Gotta go to work sometimes," Xander said with an apologetic smile, and a shrug. Anya came over to the table then, after noticing the new addition to the Scoobies.

"Isn't anyone going to introduce me to the adorable child sitting at the table?"

"Sure, An. This is Will. Formerly Spike if you get my drift." Anya's eyes widened slightly before she slowly roamed her eyes over Will. She seemed to come to a decision.

"Xander, when can we have one of those?"

"Uh, well, som-sometime in the future I guess,"he seemed to get an idea, "but they cost a lot of money you know.

"Oh, well I suppose we can wait awhile then. Hello Will nice to meet you. My name's Anya."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, ma'am."

"Oh, he has such cute manners, Xander! You don't see that around much anymore."

Giles then made his way over to the research table, another book in his hands. "As you all can see we have a slight problem here. I have been researching the demon that has caused this, and unfortunately I have determined that there is only one way for Spike to return to normal."

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Heehee. I'm evil. You'll all just hafta wait for the next chappie to find out what Giles has discovered. Read and Review!


	4. Chapter 4

_Previously_

_Giles then made his way over to the research table, another book in his hands. "As you all can see we have a slight problem here. I have been researching the demon that has caused this, and unfortunately I have determined that there is only one way for Spike to return to normal."_

_----------------------------------_

"Buffy, as you know, I had previously thought that this spell would be related to the lunar cycle. After some rather tedious researching I have concluded that, the slime of the demon, is needed for returning Spike to normal. Now before you go rushing off the cemetery, I would like to make an alternate suggestion." Giles turned towards Dawn, "Could you possibly bring Will to the training room, please Dawn?"

"Sure, Giles. Come on, Will, let's go see what we can find to play with….."

After Dawn and Will had left the room, Giles turned to face the Scoobies once more. "Now, I know some of you may object to what I am about to suggest, but really, think it through before commenting." Giles took a deep breath and continued, "now, really, would it be so bad if Spike was left this way? To live a normal childhood, never to be a vampire again?"

Almost as soon as Giles had gotten his last question out, Buffy had shot up out of her chair, a furious look on her face. "Giles! We can't do that to him! Who would take care of him? Raise him? God! He is a child, Giles! Don't you understand that?!? HE has no idea what has happened to him, where his parents are, even what year it is. How are we supposed to deal with that?"

"Buffy, I know this may be hard for you to accept, given what Spike has done for you, but really, think of the chances this poses for him, his future. He can lead a normal life."

"That's not the point Giles." Buffy looked around the table and saw that her friends were looking anywhere but at her. "So, I guess this means you guys agree," she said coldly.

Again no one looked at her. "Don't you think you guys have played God enough this year?" With that Buffy stormed out of the room. She rushed into the training room, slamming the door behind her. She spotted Will and Dawn playing with the training dummy Xander had built and her features softened at the sight.

"Come on you two, time to go home," she sighed.

She got Will situated in the back seat as Dawn climbed in front. Dawn glanced over at her sister, and could see the tension forming around her eyes. She was curious as to what she had actually missed at the Scooby meeting…..

They drove in silence. Once they reached Revello Drive, Buffy quickly ushered Will upstairs to bed. While they were upstairs, Dawn waited downstairs on the couch for Buffy to explain to her exactly what had taken place at the Magic Box.

----------------------

Sorry it was so short. There will be more next time….I hope.  Read and Review, as always!


	5. Chapter 5

Buffy brought Will upstairs and left him in the bathroom to get ready for bed while she found his pajamas. She was still fuming about Giles' little speech at the Magic Box, but she decided to not let it show until Will was safe in bed.

Will came in from the bathroom, and sat down on the bed. "Why are you mad, Buffy? Did-did I do something wrong?"

"No! No, of course not. It's grownup stuff sweetie. Why don't you just lie down under the cover with Mr. Gordo here, and I'll head down to see what Dawn's doing, ok?"

"Ok," Will said with a small yet adorable yawn. "G'night."

Buffy moved to kiss Will on the forehead. She bent down and saw that he was already on his way to a deep slumber. Walking as quietly as she could she closed the door and headed for the stairs.

When she reached the living room she saw Dawn half sprawled on the couch, obviously waiting up for her to talk about the situation. "Hey, Dawnie. I guess you want to know what's going on, huh?"

"Well, now that you mention it, yes that would be nice."

"Ok, here goes. While you and Will were in the training room, Giles started to discuss the whole turning Spike back into himself thing. He said the only way to do it was to have the slime of the demon that caused this whole mess for some sort of spell. I was all ready to go out and find another one of these things, but then Giles made another suggestion. He, he wants to leave Spike like he is. Let Will grow up and lead a 'normal' life. I got pretty mad and then we left. So that's it."

"Wow. Giles said that? He wants Will to stay like he is?"

"Yea, but the Hellmouth isn't exactly the best place to raise a kid, especially one that has Victorian views."

"I see what you're saying, Buff. But ya gotta look at it from his point of view too. Isn't Giles related to Will? Maybe Giles wants some family, for once. Ever think of that?"

"No, I didn't. I did kinda blow up at him. Maybe I'll swing by the Magic Box after patrol. Can you stay here tonight with Will while I go do that? He's fast asleep right now, and if he has another nightmare, see if you can get him to talk about it. K?"

"Yea, Buff. Go kill some baddies."

Buffy went over to the weapons chest, pulled out a stake or two then set off to patrol as Dawn was turning the TV on. She made her way over to the same cemetery as the one she and Spike had fought the demon in the first time, in hopes that maybe she could find one despite what Giles had said.

After a few minutes of wandering through the graveyard, weaving her way between graves and crypts, Buffy came to a small clearing where five or so vamps were hanging out.

"Hey, boys. Mind if I play?"

"Slayer!"

"Yep, me Slayer. You vampire. Me kill vampire."

"Hey, if we catch her, maybe we can finally get to Spike!" Buffy felt her heart skip a beat in her chest. Did these vamps know about Spike's 'transformation'?  Better play it cool.

"What would you want with that bleached moron? Come on. Let's just fight already."

"Rumor around the Hellmouth says Spike's been turned into a little kid. We're gonna find him, and kill him." Now Buffy knew for sure that these vamps meant business, nothing she couldn't handle though.

She lunged forward suddenly, catching the vamp who was making all the noise by surprise. She plunged her stake into his chest and without a word he turned to dust on the spot.  She made her way over to the group and began punching and kicking random vamps here and there. A few minutes later and she was alone in the cemetery once more, surrounded by five piles of dust.

Buffy decided to make it a night after that, and started walking towards the Magic Box. A short walk later, and few more vamps along the way, Buffy was walking into the shop, the little bell heralding her arrival.

Giles looked up from the table where he was seated alone, various books strewn about its surface. "Buffy, how can I help you?"

"I wanted to apologize for earlier. I may have blown up a bit too soon. I'm ready to hear you out now."

"Alright, Buffy. Why don't you sit down? Tea?" 

"No, thanks Giles. Just here for the talk."

"Very well." Giles got up, putting his glasses on as he went. He walked over to the small teapot he had set up and made himself busy making himself a cup.

"Why don't you start Buffy?"

"Ok. Well I talked to Dawn about what you think we should do with Will, and she brought up a good point."

"And that would be..?"

"Well, she said that since you two were related maybe that you wanted to keep Will for our own, to – to have a family," Buffy finished in a quiet voice. Giles could tell by her expression that she was afraid of losing both Spike and Will.

"Oh, Buffy. It's not that I'm trying to take either Will or Spike away from you, it's just that, wouldn't it be better for Will to grow up as a normal childhood and have a chance to live a full life rather than having to become a vampire?"

"I guess so. But what about Spike? Do we just forget about him? I don't know if I can do that," Buffy admitted. "Not to mention Dawn would miss him."

"Buffy. Look at me please." When Buffy looked up he continued, "I know that you and Spike have been spending a great deal of time together since your, return, but really you need to put him first in this situation. Ultimately I will leave this decision up to you, and if you really think its best I will try to track down the necessary spell ingredients, but I want you to think about this carefully."

"Ok, Giles. I'll think about it some more. But I better be getting home now. I left Will with Dawn while I went out patrolling."

"That's fine Buffy. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yea, Giles. Tomorrow." With that Buffy left the shop once again and headed for Revello Drive. It was a short walk and she was home before she knew it. She crept quietly in the house, knowing that Will was asleep, and Dawn was probably dozing on the couch.

She walked in to see Dawn lying on the couch, infomercials running on the TV, and the remote about to slip from her fingers. Buffy moved forward and grabbed the remote, placing it on the table. 

She gently shook Dawn awake. "Huh, what – what is it Buffy," Dawn replied sleepily.

"You fell asleep. Why don't you head up to bed."

"K. Did you talk with Giles?"

"Yea, I'll tell ya all about it tomorrow."

"K, night, Buff."

"Night."

Dawn trudged her way up the stairs to her bedroom. She stopped on the way to look in on Will, who was sleeping peacefully.

Meanwhile, Buffy was downstairs thinking about what Giles had said. Should she leave Will as he was and let him live his life out? Or should she try to get Spike back? 'Think about it later, Buff. Sleep now.'

She followed the path of her sister and checked on Will. Walked on to the bathroom but doubled back when her tired brain registered Will's tiny form tossing and turning in her bed. She rushed to his side and began to lightly rock him, making soothing sounds from the back of her throat.

Will calmed soon after that, and opened his eyes to see Buffy staring back at him. "Are you alright, Will?"

"I – I had another nightmare."

"Oh, it'll be ok sweetie. Why don't you tell me about it, then maybe it won't be so bad."

"Ok. There's a big building, and I'm inside. It's all white and really bright. There's a long hallway and there's a whole bunch of rooms. But you can see in the rooms. There's just a window.  Inside the rooms, are, um you're gonna think I'm silly, but there's monsters."

Buffy could feel a thought forming. Will's dream sounded an awful lot like the Initiative. The labs were Spike had been held looked exactly like Will was describing. "I don't think it's sill, Will. Is there any more?"

"Yes. With all the monsters there's a man with really bright hair and a long coat. He's just lying there on the floor and then, then they open up the window and poke him with something. It looks like it really hurts, too. But then you usually come and wake me up."

"Oh, Will. They'll go away soon enough. I'm here to protect you. And you've got Mr. Gordo there too. He'll make sure you're safe. Would you like me to stay with you for awhile?"

"Could you please? You can stay here if you would like. My mum always stays in bed with me if I have bad dreams."

"Ok, let me just get my pajamas, then I'll be right back."

Buffy went over to her dresser and grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a tank top. Then left the room to go change in the bathroom. She changed quickly and made her way across the hall to her bedroom once again. When she came to the bed, she saw that Will was already asleep again, holding Mr. Gordo tightly.

"Sleep well, Will," Buffy whispered as she pressed a kiss to his forehead.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry it's taken so long for an update. My muse deserted me for a little while. But it's back now so regular updates should be coming. There's probably only going to be one or two more chapters though. Read and Review!

*********

Buffy woke before Will the next morning. She sat up and looked at him, with the sun bathing him in a warm light. 'Would it really be so bad to leave him like this?' She made sure he was tucked in tight and went downstairs to procure some much needed caffeine.

As she headed into the kitchen she could smell he wonderful aroma of coffee brewing and decided that if Dawn got on her nerves today she wouldn't kill her.

"Morning, sleepyhead. Did you and Will sleep ok?"

"Huh? Yea, mornin' Dawn...slept fine. Need caffeine," she mumbled under her breath.

"Uh huh, so how did it go with Giles last night?" 

"Fine. We talked about it some more, and I think I'm starting to see his side, but I can't help feeling that we should just get Spike back. He said he would look for the ingredients if I said to. What do you think we should do?"

"Well, first off, kinda harsh that it's just up to you to decide. But I love Will and all, I just think having Spike back would be better. The Hellmouth is no place to raise a kid."

"That's what I thought, too. I think I'm gonna tell Giles to go ahead and start looking for the stuff we need."

Dawn, having sensed that particular topic of conversation was over, walked over to the refrigerator and took out some eggs. "Want some, Buff? I can do some mean scrambled eggs."

"Sure, Dawn. Why don't you make enough for all three of us? I'll go get Will up as soon as this coffee starts working."

Buffy finished up her coffee and left the kitchen in Dawn's capable hands. She went up the stairs and made her way back to her bedroom. Will was still sleeping peacefully on her bed. She walked over and brushed some of his hair off of his forehead and gave him a quick peck there. "Time to wake up, Will. Breakfast is almost ready."

"Five more minutes, mum, please. Nanny won't be here for a while."

Softly chuckling to herself, Buffy nudged him again. "Come on will it's me, Buffy. Time to rise and shine."

He rolled over and squinted at her through his sleepy eyes. "Oh…um good morning Buffy."

"Mornin Will. Sleep okay?"

"Yes, thank you. Did I hear you say something about breakfast?"

"Yup. Dawn's making us scrambled eggs." She then pulled the covers back and scooped him up, so that he was hanging upside down. She carried him down the stairs like that, his giggling in the background the whole time. She plopped him on one of the stools in the kitchen just as Dawn was putting three plates of eggs down on the counter.

"Breakfast is served."

They all dug into their plates. After they were finished they went about getting ready for the day. Everyone got dressed and then they headed over to the Magic Box.

***

Buffy pulled into the back parking, and everyone climbed out of the car. Upon entering the store they could hear Giles and Anya arguing over something. 

"Giles? Hey we're back and we brought Will with us."

"Oh yes. Hello Buffy, Dawn, Will. I'll be with you in a second." Turning back to Anya, "I told you just call some of your inventory contacts first. Then we can check the other avenues available to us."

"Fine, whatever. Go talk to your Slayer."

Giles walked over to the research table and sat down next to where Will was drawing some pictures on a piece of loose-leaf. "So have you come to a decision Buffy?"

"Yes, I have. I want to do the spell to get Spike back."

"Very well. Hold on one moment please. Anya," Giles called.

"Yea?"

"Looks like we are going to have to order that O'lican slime after all."

"Ok, I'll get right on it."

"Thank you. Now, Buffy. This spell is very complicated. I think it would be best if we did it at your house. The way it will work is Will will be asleep when it is performed. The spell's affects will not be immediate. He will just wake up in the morning as 'Spike'. Any questions?"  
  


"No, I think that's it. How soon until we do this?"

"Not very long. We just need to find the slime and then the rest of the ingredients can be found here in the store. We will have to wait until the next waxing moon though."

"Ok, so you get to work on that then and Dawn, Will, and I are gonna head back to the house for a little while. Let me know when you find everything."

"Yes, of course. See you all later I suppose."

"Bye Giles."

Buffy, Dawn, and Will all piled into the car again heading back to the Summers' household. Once they were home they all silently went over to the couch in the living room and sat down. Dawn turned on the TV and found a Scooby Doo marathon on Cartoon Network, so they watched that. Eventually they had lunch and the day went on as what passed for normal on the Hellmouth.

Around five o'clock the phone rang. Buffy got up to answer and was surprised to hear Giles on the other end. "Giles? Did you find the slime stuff already?"

"Yes, Buffy I did. But they refuse to ship it to me so I have to go down there to get it."

"Um, well where is 'there'?"

"Oh, not far. Just an hour or so down the coast. I have made arrangements to pick it up tomorrow, and we seem to be in luck. The moon is in the correct phase now. So as soon as I get back Willow can perform the spell."

"Oh, that's great. Ok, I'll let you go, Giles. I'm sure you have other stuff to do."

"Yes, quite right. And Buffy, try to enjoy the time Will has left." With that Giles hung up the phone and Buffy was left staring at the receiver in her hand. She walked back into the living room, and faced Dawn.

"So who was on the phone?"

"Giles. He found all the stuff we need for the spell. We can do it tomorrow night. Did I make the right decision, Dawnie?"

"Of course you did Buffy. It's not fair to Spike if we keep him like this. Tell ya what. Let's take Will to Weatherly Park for awhile and then tomorrow we can do something special. Ok?"

"Yea that sounds good."

Dawn moved over to Will's side of the couch where he was lightly dozing. "Will, we're gonna go to the park. Wanna come?"

"We are? Are there any gardens?"

"I think so. Let's go in the car and drive over, k?"

"Ok, come on Buffy! We're going to the park!"

"I'll be right there guys, you head to the car without me." Buffy watched as they ran out the front door to the driveway and hopped into the car. 'I sure am gonna miss the little guy,' Buffy thought to herself.


	7. Chapter 7

Dawn, Will, and Buffy had a great time at the park that afternoon. They played on the swings, teeter-totter, merry-go-round, and everything else in the park. After a while the sun began to dip in the sky and Buffy knew it was time to get home.  
  
They all piled in the car and headed towards Revello Drive. Once home, Buffy made diner for the three of them. The night progressed rather normally for the trio and soon they all headed to bed.  
  
****  
  
The next morning Buffy woke early and realized that it was her last day with Will. That that night the spell to reverse the slime's effects would be performed. She got up, headed downstairs and made some breakfast for herself, Will, and Dawn. Soon Buffy heard the sounds of two pairs of feet on the stairs, and then heading towards the kitchen.  
  
"Good morning, guys. We have to get over to the Magic Box pretty soon, so eat up and then we can go."  
  
"Yea, sure mornin' Buff," Dawn said with a yawn.  
  
Buffy chuckled silently at her sister and went over to the sink, preparing to do the dishes. After everyone was finished with their breakfast they headed back out to the car and Buffy drove to the Magic Box.  
  
Once inside the Buffy sat Will down at the research table with some paper and crayons and turned to Anya. "Has Giles left yet?"  
  
"Yes, he called me in early too. I am expecting extra pay for this."  
  
"Ok, that's nice, Anya. Do you know when he'll be back?"  
  
"Oh, he said he would be back around 2 o'clock. And that he wanted Willow and Tara to meet him here at 4. I already told them, of course. But I suppose it's alright for you to know that as well."  
  
"Yea, well is there anything I can help with? We were just gonna hang around for awhile anyway."  
  
"Hmm.yes, you can go down to the basement and use your Slayer strength to bring me the new inventory. They're in the boxes that still have tape on them."  
  
"Ok, how many boxes are there?"  
  
"Only five or six, shouldn't take you long."  
  
Buffy groaned good-naturedly and set about her task. It only took her twenty minutes or so to bring all of the boxes, which turned out to be more like eight or nine rather than Anya's five or six.  
  
"So where do you want all this stuff?"  
  
"Start unpacking the larger boxes. Those are some fertility statues. You can place them at the corners of the shelves."  
  
Buffy once again went back to work, all the while keeping an eye on Will and Dawn. Will was coloring furiously, concentrating on his project with his little tongue peeking out the corner of his lips. Dawn seemed to be reading a school book.  
  
She finished the statues, and some she really didn't want to know about. Then went back to the rest of the boxes. They were filled with what looked like knickknacks to her, but she was sure had some kind of nasty magickal connotation. "Where do you want the rest of the stuff, Anya?"  
  
"What? Oh, you can just leave those in the boxes, I have to catalogue them before I can do anything else."  
  
It was nearing on 1:30 pm and Buffy was feeling restless. "Anyone hungry? I can make a lunch run."  
  
Dawn and Will both perked up at the mention of food and Buffy decided to make it an outing. She knew she only had a few more hours with Will and she wanted to make them last. She also felt guilty because she was just the teeniest bit excited about having Spike back.  
  
"Ok, lets go to the DoubleMeat. Anya, want anything?"  
  
"No, that's alright, I have a sandwich here. But thank you for asking."  
  
"Ok, let's go guys, you can decide what you want in the car."  
  
The three of them headed back out to the car. And Buffy drove over to the DoubleMeat. They went inside and stared at the menu. The line moved eventually and it was their turn to order. They all sat down in a booth once their order was ready, and dug into their food.  
  
Once finished, Buffy tossed the garbage into the trash and they headed back to the Magic Box. Buffy knew that when they got there, Giles would be back and she wasn't sure if she was ready to face what that meant yet.  
  
They headed back into the shop and Buffy immediately locked onto Giles. He was over at the counter arguing with Anya about something. "So, Giles, did you get the stuff?"  
  
"Oh, hello Buffy. Yes I did manage to acquire the necessary ingredients. I will be meeting Willow and Tara later on to discuss the specifics, but it seems like we can most definitely do the spell tonight."  
  
"Great. That's great. Where are you meeting Willow and Tara?"  
  
"Here, but do you think it would be better if we did it at your house?"  
  
"That's what I was thinking. Then we could just do the spell after you guys are done talking."  
  
"Yes, that's a good idea Buffy. We shall all be at you house in an hour. Is that alright with you?"  
  
"Yup, sounds good. I guess I'll just take Will and Dawn home now."  
  
"Alright, Buffy. I shall see you later then."  
  
"Yup, bye Giles."  
  
***  
  
Sorry it was so short. I have to get this finished by Monday morning, because I am using it for a piece in my portfolio for an English class, which happens to be due Monday at noon. 


	8. Chapter 8

Dawn, Will, and Buffy had a great time at the park that afternoon. They played on the swings, teeter-totter, merry-go-round, and everything else in the park. After a while the sun began to dip in the sky and Buffy knew it was time to get home.  
  
They all piled in the car and headed towards Revello Drive. Once home, Buffy made diner for the three of them. The night progressed rather normally for the trio and soon they all headed to bed.  
  
****  
  
The next morning Buffy woke early and realized that it was her last day with Will. That that night the spell to reverse the slime's effects would be performed. She got up, headed downstairs and made some breakfast for herself, Will, and Dawn. Soon Buffy heard the sounds of two pairs of feet on the stairs, and then heading towards the kitchen.  
  
"Good morning, guys. We have to get over to the Magic Box pretty soon, so eat up and then we can go."  
  
"Yea, sure mornin' Buff," Dawn said with a yawn.  
  
Buffy chuckled silently at her sister and went over to the sink, preparing to do the dishes. After everyone was finished with their breakfast they headed back out to the car and Buffy drove to the Magic Box.  
  
Once inside the Buffy sat Will down at the research table with some paper and crayons and turned to Anya. "Has Giles left yet?"  
  
"Yes, he called me in early too. I am expecting extra pay for this."  
  
"Ok, that's nice, Anya. Do you know when he'll be back?"  
  
"Oh, he said he would be back around 2 o'clock. And that he wanted Willow and Tara to meet him here at 4. I already told them, of course. But I suppose it's alright for you to know that as well."  
  
"Yea, well is there anything I can help with? We were just gonna hang around for awhile anyway."  
  
"Hmm.yes, you can go down to the basement and use your Slayer strength to bring me the new inventory. They're in the boxes that still have tape on them."  
  
"Ok, how many boxes are there?"  
  
"Only five or six, shouldn't take you long."  
  
Buffy groaned good-naturedly and set about her task. It only took her twenty minutes or so to bring all of the boxes, which turned out to be more like eight or nine rather than Anya's five or six.  
  
"So where do you want all this stuff?"  
  
"Start unpacking the larger boxes. Those are some fertility statues. You can place them at the corners of the shelves."  
  
Buffy once again went back to work, all the while keeping an eye on Will and Dawn. Will was coloring furiously, concentrating on his project with his little tongue peeking out the corner of his lips. Dawn seemed to be reading a school book.  
  
She finished the statues, and some she really didn't want to know about. Then went back to the rest of the boxes. They were filled with what looked like knickknacks to her, but she was sure had some kind of nasty magickal connotation. "Where do you want the rest of the stuff, Anya?"  
  
"What? Oh, you can just leave those in the boxes, I have to catalogue them before I can do anything else."  
  
It was nearing on 1:30 pm and Buffy was feeling restless. "Anyone hungry? I can make a lunch run."  
  
Dawn and Will both perked up at the mention of food and Buffy decided to make it an outing. She knew she only had a few more hours with Will and she wanted to make them last. She also felt guilty because she was just the teeniest bit excited about having Spike back.  
  
"Ok, lets go to the DoubleMeat. Anya, want anything?"  
  
"No, that's alright, I have a sandwich here. But thank you for asking."  
  
"Ok, let's go guys, you can decide what you want in the car."  
  
The three of them headed back out to the car. And Buffy drove over to the DoubleMeat. They went inside and stared at the menu. The line moved eventually and it was their turn to order. They all sat down in a booth once their order was ready, and dug into their food.  
  
Once finished, Buffy tossed the garbage into the trash and they headed back to the Magic Box. Buffy knew that when they got there, Giles would be back and she wasn't sure if she was ready to face what that meant yet.  
  
They headed back into the shop and Buffy immediately locked onto Giles. He was over at the counter arguing with Anya about something. "So, Giles, did you get the stuff?"  
  
"Oh, hello Buffy. Yes I did manage to acquire the necessary ingredients. I will be meeting Willow and Tara later on to discuss the specifics, but it seems like we can most definitely do the spell tonight."  
  
"Great. That's great. Where are you meeting Willow and Tara?"  
  
"Here, but do you think it would be better if we did it at your house?"  
  
"That's what I was thinking. Then we could just do the spell after you guys are done talking."  
  
"Yes, that's a good idea Buffy. We shall all be at you house in an hour. Is that alright with you?"  
  
"Yup, sounds good. I guess I'll just take Will and Dawn home now."  
  
"Alright, Buffy. I shall see you later then."  
  
"Yup, bye Giles."  
  
***  
  
One Hour Later.  
  
Everyone had gathered at the Summers' residence to go over the spell. It was discussed and decided that the best plan of action would be to do the spell while Will was asleep so that he would awake as Spike.  
  
The spell itself took no longer than 10 minutes. Willow and Tara waited until Will was sleeping deeply, and then set about working their magick. There were no visible effects on Will, but Buffy knew that this was the last she would ever see of him.  
  
After a quieted conversation, everyone left, save Buffy and Dawn. They stayed up for awhile then went to bed. Buffy wanted to be there for Spike when he awoke, so she went to her room, and set down by the bedside where Will was sleeping. She knew that in a few short hours his body would grow, his lungs and heart would cease to work, and he would no longer be able to be in the sun.  
  
Buffy awoke to the sun pulling itself over the horizon and quickly realized that she had to close the curtains. She jumped up and ran to the window. After she had secured the curtains, she went back to the bed and looked down. There was Spike. Full-grown Spike.  
  
Buffy just stared at him for a few moments, until she saw him start to stir. She nudged him the rest of the way to consciousness.  
  
"Spike? Spike, come on now. Time to wake up."  
  
"Huh? Wha- Buffy? What happened?"  
  
Buffy smiled as she saw traces of Will in Spike, as he rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn.  
  
"What's the last thing you remember?"  
  
"We were fighting that slimy demon, I got slimed, we went to the Magic Box talked to Giles, then we went to your house and we watched a movie, right?"  
  
"Yea, but you remember the slime? That it had certain qualities to it?"  
  
"Um, yea reckon I remember Rupert talking bout that before we left for the cemeteries."  
  
"Well, since you got some of it on you, you got turned into a little kid."  
  
"I.I what?!"  
  
"You were you as a little kid. You said your name was William James Giles, and don't think we won't be talking about that mister! You had nightmares of what sounded like the Initiative, held Mr. Gordo, went to the park, and the mall, played with Xander. Lots of stuff happened. You don't remember anything?"  
  
"I played with XANDER?!?"  
  
"I tell you what has been happening around here and that's the part you picked up on? Whatever, yes you played with him. He had to watch you while Dawn and I couldn't. You both got along very well too."  
  
"I see. So I guess you know a whole bunch about me now then."  
  
"Sorta, I mean you were just a kid. A cute kid, but a kid."  
  
"Cute, eh?"  
  
"Watch it mister, there are tons of stakes all around this room."  
  
"I get it, I get it."  
  
"Ok, well I think we should have a Scooby meeting later. We can wait till the sun isn't so strong though. I'm just gonna go hop in the shower, you can relax some more if you want. I'm sure Dawnie is still sleeping."  
  
"Ok, love, sure you don't need a hand in there?"  
  
"Watch it bleach boy!"  
  
Buffy gathered some clothes and a towel and headed toward the bathroom, while Spike flopped back onto the pillows. 'Wonder if she knew I was lying? Those were some great memories. Guess I better be off now, though.'  
  
Spike finished his internal monologue and set off down the stairs, bringing a blanket from Buffy's room with him. He looked out the front door, didn't see anyone, and then took off for the sewers that would take him back to his crypt.  
  
***  
  
Buffy finished her shower then went into her room, expecting to see Spike still curled up under the sheets. What she saw was a rumpled bed, but no vampire. 'He must have gone downstairs.'  
  
She knocked on Dawn's door, effectively waking her sister up. "Dawn, time to get up. You wanna see Spike don't you?"  
  
Buffy headed down the stairs and could find no trace of Spike. Just as she was starting to panic a sleep tousled Dawn came down the stairs. "Dawn, did you see Spike up there?"  
  
"No, why?"  
  
"I can't find him."  
  
"Huh? Buffy it's daylight where could he have gone?"  
  
"I don't know, but Spike's always had a thing for risking being a crispy critter."  
  
"Maybe he just went back to his crypt. You want me to go check?"  
  
"Yea, go ahead and do that Dawnie, I'm gonna call Giles and tell him it worked, then head over to the Magic Box. Meet me there."  
  
"K, I'll be back later."  
  
***  
  
Dawn set off for Spike's crypt. She arrived not fifteen minutes later. When she walked in the sight that greeted her was Spike sprawled in his armchair holding a jar of blood.  
  
"Hey Spike, how come ya ran off this morning?"  
  
"Nibblet. Didn't think big sis would want me cramping her style any longer."  
  
"Come on Spike, you know you're welcome there. No need to run off, now why did you really do it?"  
  
"Ok, ya caught me. Buffy mentioned a Scooby meeting and I didn't want to go."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"All those mushy feelings floating around. Not my cup of tea, pidge."  
  
"You just didn't want to have to make nice with Xander."  
  
"It's not that..I..I just don't want them all to go back to hating me, that's all."  
  
"Oh, Spike." Dawn walked over and sat her self on the arm of Spike's chair. "They don't hate you. I don't think anyone could after this past week."  
  
"If you insist, Nibblet. I guess we can go to the shop then. Wanna head through the sewers with me? It's a little to bright out for that distance for me."  
  
"Sure. We can meet Buffy there."  
  
***  
  
Dawn and Spike arrived through the basement and headed up the stairs to the main area to meet Buffy. Once there they plopped themselves down in a couple of chairs. Just as they were getting settled, the bell above the main door jingled to signal Buffy's arrival.  
  
"Hey, Spike."  
  
"Buffy"  
  
Buffy glanced around the room and saw that they were the only three present. She nervously shuffled over to where Dawn and Spike were sitting. They sat in silence, until Xander, Willow, Tara, and Giles arrived 15 minutes later.  
  
"Hey! Look, bleach-boy's back!"  
  
"Yea, nice to see you too whelp." Although it was some of their normal banter, everyone could see that it packed less heat than it usually did.  
  
Eventually everyone went over what happened the past week, retold funny stories, and had a good time. Even Spike cracked a few smiles here and there.  
  
The End  
  
************************************************************************  
  
I'm not quite satisfied with how I ended it, but I like to think that I left it open for interpretation, and a possible sequel. Hope you enjoyed it, I know I did, since it was my first major fic. ;) 


End file.
